Dragons Rising
by WorTri
Summary: In every kingdom, there are dragons. These dragons are tasked to protect against threats such as rogue dragons or invasions. This year, the new recruits and fledgling dragons are faced with an increasingly violent series of attacks. Accompanied by the stress of finding a partner and passing the final exam, will the trainees be able to succeed? Contains many pairings.
1. A New Flock

Heavy wingbeats split the quiet afternoon as a large, cerulean dragon descended into a clearing.

"Jin! You're late." The trio of commanders stood nearby a fallen tree, dressed in standard uniform. A crisp white shirt accompanied charcoal riding pants and black leather boots. The silver coats marking them as commanders were adorned with the marking of their respective dragons, and the colored sash around their waist marked them as already paired. They quietly awaited the arrival of the dragons.

Morphing into his human form, Jin grinned. "No one else is here yet. I can't be late." Shinoda heaved a long-suffering sigh.

"Get your flock together, we're welcoming new recruits." Seeing the gleam in his eye, he hastened to add, "And no, you are not allowed to terrify them."

"No fun."

A few other dragons landed in the clearing, the reds and greens of their scales shimmering in the early afternoon sun. Behind them, the fledglings followed, gangly limbs and unbalanced wings leading to rather messy landings. Kido stood, completely unperturbed as a golden dragon skidded to a stop amidst a cloud of dust not two feet away from him. Trainees began to file into the clearing. Similar to the commanders, they sported the same shirt, pants, and boots. Unlike the commanders, however, each sash was colored white.

Leading them was a black-capped male with his light brown dragon.

"Arafune, Suwa," Shinoda greeted. The eyes of the trainees were blown wide at the size of the dragons filling up the majority of the open space. They spread in a wide cluster at the edge of the dragons, watching but not speaking. Quiet whispers rose and fell.

Job done, Arafune mounted Suwa and the pair rose into the air, majestic in the clear sky.

"Look at that one- do you think he's pedigree? I want him."

"Are you kidding? Look at that huge red one over there! He's probably the most powerful."

"But that black one has super rare scales."

"He's tiny. Who wants him?"

The dragons shifted uneasily, their enhanced hearing catching every word of what the trainees said.

"Trainees!" Rindo stood at the front of the crowd, speaking as loudly as he could. When the murmuring continued, Jin stepped forwards and roared.

Silence fell.

"We will be splitting you into two flocks, previously chosen based on your merits from the academy. Your mission as a member of the dragon guard is to prevent us from attack stemming from the nearby dragon nations. As you are still trainees, your flocks will consist of one senior rider pair, two intermediate rider pairs, and from three to five trainee pairs." Rindo turned to Jin. "This is Jin. His rider will be coming soon, but his name is Kizaki Reiji. The two of them are the senior rider pair of Flock One. Flock Two is headed by Arashiyama Jun and his rider, Tokieda Mitsuru. They will now take the riders."

As Rindo finished speaking, a red headed man sprinted into the clearing. "Sorry… Am I late?"

He blinked awkwardly, seeing the entire group of trainees for the first time.

The moment was broken as Jin snorted. "And you said I was late."

-Line Break-

"Flock One, please come with me!" The man, now identified as Kizaki Reiji, waved over Tachikawa, Isami, and Ninomiya. "The rest of you, go with Arashiyama."

The latter three trainees, consisting of Mikumo, Murakami, and Konami, hurried to join the man standing nearby a trio of new dragons.

Kizaki heaved a sigh. "Alright. It's my job to give you the blowdown on the purpose of our squad, our duties, everyday schedule, and training. However, we also need to fit the dragons into our schedule, and-"

Jin interjected abruptly. "The dragons are better. Plus, we'll see them before Flock Two. I want to go meet the intermediate rider pairs we've been assigned to."

Reiji shot Jin a warning glance for interrupting his speech. "If you would be willing to give up your break in between, we can see the dragons first and talk later."

Exchanging hasty glances, the recruits thought. "I want to see the dragons." Tachikawa was the first to break the stalemate.

"I agree." Ninomiya shot him a dirty look for being the first to speak. Isami put on an easy grin, adding, "If that's what those two want, I'm game."

"It's settled then. Let's go."

Tokieda looked on in mild surprise as Flock One began heading towards the caves. "Finished already?"

Jin smirked. "Yep. We're just bet-" Reiji slapped a hand hastily over Jin's mouth. "We're going to see the dragons and then talk. They'll be missing break, though."

"Hn." Tokieda nodded. "Alright, then."

A few minutes of a walk later, the caves came into view.

"Are you Flock One?" A large brown dragon scrambled out of a nearby cave, followed closely by his rider.

"Yes. Are you our intermediate rider pairs?"

"Yep. I'm Suwa, he's Arafune." Switching tones abruptly, he turned and yelled, "MIWA COME OUT. THEY'RE HERE. STOP HIDING!" Several trainees put hands over their ears. Suwa's yell was akin to a foghorn in volume.

A black haired boy dashed out of the cave. "Shut up, you're loud!" Another boy followed behind him, hair held back with a headband. Upon seeing the cerulean dragon, the first boy froze.

"You." The single word held so much disgust that Reiji glanced at Jin, trying to gauge his reaction.

"Shuji! Long time no see."

"Too short of a time, you monster." The second boy grabbed Miwa's arm. "Relax, Shuji. I'm here too."

"I know, Yosuke. But he-"

"Shh. Trainees are here. Let's get the fledglings." Miwa morphed into a sleek, deep red dragon and flew towards a higher up cave.

A few minutes later, three dragons stood in front of the trainees, eying them. Their scales were vibrant, one a shimmering gold, the next a deep blue. The last one was smaller than the others, and had inky black scales. His eyes, a red deeper than the colors of Miwa's scales, studied the humans in front of him with distaste. His posture screamed of defense, wings curled in front of his body.

Jin body bumped the dragon, forcing him to stumble and put out his wings for balance. "Chill, Kazama. They won't hurt you."

Kazama sent a baleful glare to Jin, regaining his balance.

"So!" Reiji swept out an arm. "These will be your dragons. We don't know who will be paired with who, or even if you will be paired at all. This depends on both ends of the partnership, and your dynamic with each other. We will observe carefully, and by the end of the year during the final test, we will pair riders with dragons. Should you pass, you would stay with the flock for another year before becoming intermediates like those two."

Miwa stepped forwards, now back in human form. "There are four types of dragons within our kingdom. Fire, Earth, Wind, and Water. They excel in attack, defense, agility, and healing magic respectively. They each have their own weaknesses, although you can discuss that with individual dragons when you get a chance. This year, the fledglings are one water, one fire, and one wind."

Yoneya pointed out each dragon as he said their name. "This is Izumi, fire dragon." The golden scaled dragon grinned, extending his wings and nearly knocking over the smaller dragon next to him. "Kazama, wind dragon." The smaller black dragon lashed his tail angrily at Izumi, scowling. "And Narasaka, water dragon." The blue dragon sat quietly, watching the events occur.

"Miwa and I are fire dragons, and Suwa is an earth dragon," supplied Jin.

"I should let you know that not all of these dragons were pedigree. Kazama and his brother weren't, and neither was Miwa."

"Brother?" inquired Tachikawa. Reiji sighed. "Jin, why'd you have to mention that." Kazama's expression was stony and closed off. "Anyways, both Miwa and Kazama were taken from the wild. Now that we've all met the dragons, please morph into human form."

As the dragons began to morph, Reiji hastily added, "Remember clothes!"

Narasaka and Kazama went red, hastily hiding behind a rock. Izumi rolled on the floor, laughing his head off at the unfortunate dragons.

Tachikawa tossed his spare coat over the rock. "Kazama, here."

A slender hand reached over to grab the coat before fastening it and stepping around the rock. Tachikawa had to hold back a gasp.

The boy was beautiful.

There was no other way to say it. His body was slender and petite, but well built. Dark hair framed his face, where two sharp red eyes stared straight at him.

Although, maybe the coat was a bit long.

Just a bit.

Narasaka had been a bit more prepared, this having happened before. He had a spare set of clothes within the cave, and had changed into them.

"I'm going to explain the guidelines now." Reiji held up a map. "This is us." He circled a space bordered with forests. "We have many neighboring nations that attack us." He marked an icy wasteland, a series of rivers, and a large forest. "We scout and defend, and sometimes attack to protect our country."

He opened a large book, the word 'strategies' scrawled on the cover. "We'll be learning the various strategies and their cues, flying patterns for both evasion and attack, and battle strategies and roles for each type of dragon and rider."

"That's the gist of it, and it's a bit more complicated than that. But for now, that will do. Get some rest, we'll see you bright and early next morning. Dinner is back at camp, and you will be sleeping in the barracks until you get a dragon to trust you enough to let you sleep with them."

A muffled snore broke the silence.

"Izumi, stop sleeping!"

 **A/N:**

 **So that was the first chapter. This is a multi chaptered affair, and it will have somewhat of a meandering plot, with attacks, etc. However, there will probably be a few different plot lines all happening at the same time. Both Flock One and Flock Two will get attention, and I will be bringing in Yuma in a few chapters. Neighbors will have interesting colors and dragons, and I will do my best to include as many characters as possible. There will be a lot of terminology and world building, so I apologize if it feels like a lump of info and no action. PLEASE ASK QUESTIONS ON THE COMMENTS IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND SOMETHING. I WILL DEFINE IT AS SOON AS I CAN. Ex. Specifications about relationships, powers and weaknesses, history, etc. This was a long A/N, but I feel like it is necessary. Please favorite, follow, and review! I love reviews! Constructive criticism is welcome.**

 **Thanks for reading, as always.**

 **-WorTri**


	2. First Flight

Ninomiya awoke the next morning to a rumbling snore. Rolling over to glance at the clock next to him, he scowled once he realized it was only six, far earlier than he had intended to wake up. Grabbing his blankets and yanking them back up to his chin, he attempted to fall back asleep.

A few minutes later, Ninomiya stared blankly at the ceiling, having tried and failed to fall asleep multiple times. An irk mark appeared on his forehead as he heard yet another snore come from his blasted roommate.

At this, he abruptly stood up, stalked over to his roommate's bedside, and forcibly yanked the blankets off the person, effectively landing said person on the floor.

"Tachikawa! Wake up!"

Tachikawa blearily grinned in Ninomiya's general direction. "Yes, mom."

Reiji sat up in bed as he heard an incensed roar coming from the barracks.

-Line Break-

Breakfast was interesting.

The moment Kido had walked in to eat, Ninomiya had walked up and demanded to switch roommates.

"Ninomiya. I expect more decorum from one with your track record."

"I apologize. But Tachikawa-"

"It would do you well to understand how to work with anyone and everyone." Kido cut off Ninomiya, swiftly putting an end to the conversation.

Tachikawa was supremely unaffected, happily stuffing his face with grilled mochi.

"Where are the dragons?" Mikumo asked.

"MMPH?" asked Tachikawa rather loudly, looking up at the bespectacled boy next to him.

"To answer your question, Mikumo, the dragons usually either eat with their mate- I mean partner- or alone in their caves," Shinoda responded.

"Alone?" Tachikawa had finally swallowed the mouthful of extremely sticky mochi. "Aren't they lonely?"

Shinoda frowned. "A majority get partners, or they don't complain. A few enjoy the solitude." Turning to glance at the position of the sun in the sky, he added, "You might want to hurry. Both of the senior rider pairs are done, and ready." _And grouchy_ , he added silently.

"Wait, how do you know?" Murakami approached, interested in the silent conversation Shinoda appeared to be having.

"When a dragon trusts someone enough, they will communicate through minds. This is fairly rare outside of lifelong partners or other dragons, but Jin has a special ability, allowing him to do it with everyone. Be aware that this means he can poke into your mind and see what you are thinking if you are not careful."

"…" Murakami was silent. "Can he include multiple people in a conversation?"

"No. It's strictly limited to two people at once. Also, Jin says that Reiji says that both squads are ten minutes late and now have ten laps as punishment."

"EH!?"

-Line Break-

All the dragons were in human form, standing around waiting for their riders to arrive. They wore uniforms identical to their human counterparts, neatly ironed clothes spotless.

Well, mostly.

For some, it might be stretching the truth.

Ish.

Kageura was rolling around, tussling with Izumi, who was laughing as he avoided Kageura's blows. Jin and Reiji shared a look, but did not interfere.

Once Kageura was completely tired out, splayed across the dirty ground, Izumi returned to his spot under a tree to continue waiting. Kido walked around the bend, bringing the trainees with him, and stopped short upon seeing the sorry state Kageura and his uniform were in.

It spoke volumes about the commonality of the event when he wordlessly handed over a clean uniform with a note on top reading 'Kageura.'

"Let's go," said Tokieda. "We're already behind as it is. Pick a dragon and mount. Ten laps, and then meet at the entrance to the forest."

"Same for you guys," added Reiji. "No fussing about who you end up with. Oh, Mikumo. Your dragon… er…"

The day before, Mikumo had ended up riding an extremely grouchy dark green dragon. It had expressed its dislike of the situation in… interesting terms, and apparently up and left the next day.

"You can share with someone."

Silence crossed the clearing.

"…Any volunteers?"

"Looks like you're riding with Arashiyama and I. Let's go."

Ninomiya glances at the three dragons in front of him. The golden haired one, Izumi, he thinks, is loud and energetic. He also appears to enjoy annoying his fellow dragons. The black haired one, Kazama… He's small. Small dragons in general are undesirable, and Kazama appears to know it. However, being a wind dragon might mean faster speeds with a smaller body. Then there is the blue eyed one. Narasaka, a water dragon, is much more geared towards support from afar to close range attacking, which being a battle mage, Ninomiya prefers.

The intelligence in Kazama's eyes throws him off.

The red eyed boy is silent, but watches each person in the clearing closely. Ninomiya feels watched, even as he examines each dragon himself. Approaching the black scaled dragon, he wonders whether he should ask to ride.

Before he gets the chance, Tachikawa is there.

"Kazama! Still have my jacket?" A goofy grin is on his face, even as he haphazardly throws an arm over his shoulders.

Kazama is almost instantly stepping back, pushing the unwelcome arm back to its owner.

"Please refrain from touching me when unnecessary." A pink flush rests high on his cheeks even as he speaks. He reaches into a bag sitting near him, pulling out Tachikawa's jacket. "Here."

Tachikawa is momentarily surprised at the aversion to his touch, but recovers remarkably fast. "You can keep it! You might need it, in case… you know… it happens again."

Kazama extends the jacket towards Tachikawa, wavering slightly. When Tachikawa pushes it back towards him again, he appears to weigh his options before placing the jacket back into the bag.

Tachikawa is happy with the small victory.

"Ride with me?"

"…Ok."

And just like that, Ninomiya's options are reduced to two.

He steps towards the quieter of the two before realizing that the other boy in his flock, Isami, is already mounting.

Izumi, now shifted to dragon form, steps towards him, issuing a silent challenge. Ninomiya inclines his head in greeting before getting straight to the point. "Will you ride with me?"

"And if I said no?"

"We'll get put together anyways."

"Fair point. You win, get on."

Silently exhaling in relief, Ninomiya climbs onto the golden dragon's back, securing his heels behind the wingjoints to secure his place.

"READY!" Tokieda is already in the air, yelling through a bullhorn atop Arashiyama, prepared to catch any who fell.

"TAKEOFF!"

As one, both squads take their first leap into the air atop their dragons.

Izumi hurtles off the ground at breakneck speed, nearly dropping Ninomiya as he struggles to recover from the shock.

"IZUMI!" Reiji yells furiously from the ground. "Don't drop your trainee!" Izumi smirks, the look in his eyes reminding Ninomiya dangerously of his friend from back home. Inukai and Tsuji had left a while ago, and never returned.

Ninomiya shook his head furiously, attempting to rid himself of the thoughts. Izumi paused, hovering in midair. "You good?"

"Fine," spits out Ninomiya. "Just fine."

Izumi hovers a moment longer before taking a steep dive towards the ground. Ninomiya instantaneously jerks upright, out of his thoughts and screams in Izumi's ear. "What are you doing?! You're going to get us killed!"

"DON'T WORRY! WE'LL BE FINE!" _Also, they'll catch you if you fall,_ he mentally adds.

The rest of the afternoon, meant to be spent learning the first few maneuvers and formations, is spent on what Tokieda writes on the report as "Team Bonding."

In reality, they fly until exhausted, and all crash in Jin's cave until morning.

Kido sighs, rubbing his temples. _These kids._

In front of him lie papers, on top of which is a mission report reading:

THIRD ROGUE ATTACK IN A WEEK. WHAT WILL THE ROYAL ACADEMY DO?

The picture below depicts a burning village, villagers running in every direction.

 _We need to train them fast._

 **A/N: I apologize for the lack of** _ **stuff**_ **in the chapter. It may have seemed boring, but team bonding and relationships between characters do not happen randomly. Also, there are many backstories. Get used to it. But… we have our first conflict! Yay! I might want a beta reader for combat. I suck at making it realistic and heartpounding, the way I like combat to be. So if my readers would be so kind as to maybe beta read? Please?**

 **As always, favorite, follow, and review!**

 **Thanks,**

 **WorTri**


	3. A Disturbance

Kido stood in front of the mess hall, his stance commanding attention.

"Dragons! We have a message from the royal family. They are… worried that we have not been doing enough to prevent attacks from the recently spotted rogue dragons. As such, today alongside with usual instructive patrols, we will send the intermediate rider pairs from each flock to hunt for any sign of these rogues. Dismissed."

A murmur of assent drifted through the crowd, only broken by one voice. Izumi obstinately climbs on top of a table, now at Kido's height.

"So what have they done to prevent attacks? And do they have any other information to give us other than simply to stop it?" Ninomiya tugs furiously on Izumi's pant leg, trying to get him to sit down.

"That… would be classified information. Although they have done nothing more to assist us, they alone see the state of villages once a rogue has passed through. You would do well to remain silent."

At this point, Izumi smirks. "You just don't want to tell us that they don't trust us."

Gasps rise through the room, furious voices rising in anger. "You… how dare you doubt him." Miwa stands slowly, eyes narrowed in clear disgust. Yoneya awkwardly rises as well, unsure whether to support or prevent Miwa's oncoming outburst.

"I mean maybe the rogues haven't caused damage. You say that only they have seen the damage. Maybe they want a fight between dragons. You've seen the looks we get in town as soon as they see our pupils. Humans hate us."

Kido spits out the next words as if they pain him. "This may be… possible. However, we trust in His Majesty. You will obey his orders, or you will be put to forced labor."

"So now we drop to threats. I see." Izumi smiles. "I back down now. Next time…"

He turns with a flourish of robes and leaves the room.

The shocked silence that remains is abruptly broken by Tachikawa wondering out loud.

"How do you think he got his robes to do the swishy-swish?"

-LINEBREAK-

Each flock's intermediate riders head out early to patrol specific areas on a mission to capture or kill the rogues.

Yoneya touches Miwa's shoulder hesitantly before he shifts, murmuring "Are you alright?"

Miwa sighs heavily, brushing dark locks away from his forehead. "I'm worried. The senior rider pairs with be alone in protecting the three trainee pairs. Do you think they'll be alright?"

"I'm sure they'll be fine. You know Reiji, he won't let a thing so much as touch them."

Miwa shifts into his dragon form before lowering himself to the ground in front of Yoneya, who smiles and briefly wraps his arms around his scaled neck in a comforting embrace. Stepping back, Yoneya swiftly hooks a foot into a chink in the smooth scales to attach a soft cloth saddle before swinging himself atop Miwa's back. His black cloak softly settled into gentle folds as he shifted in the saddle.

"Let's go."

The intermediate pairs were gone before the trainees had finished saddling their dragons.

Reiji watched the intermediates fly off with mild concern. _They might need more combat experience before fighting rogues…_

He returned his attention to the three recruits in front of him.

"The dragons discussed yesterday and agreed on who was flying with who." Narasaka moved to stand beside the slightly smug sniper. Touma smirked.

"I knew you'd eventually like me!"

"Shut it before I leave you with Izumi instead." Touma was much quieter after that.

Kazama silently moved next to Tachikawa. Ninimiya looked horrified, glancing at Izumi who had the largest shit-eating grin on his face.

"Aw, I kinda wanted to try another dragon." Looking shocked and slightly hurt, Kazama turned instead towards Ninomiya who looked significantly more hopeful.

"Ah, no, I was- I was joking! I want to fly with you!" Flustered, Tachikawa waves his hands in erratic motions, spluttering in his attempts to get words out of his mouth.

Slightly abashed, Kazama moved the tiniest bit closer to Tachikawa, who then proceeded to throw his arms about his neck. Ninomiya appeared as if he had just been sentenced to his death.

"Guess who you get?" Izumi smiled impossibly wider, circling the tormented Ninomiya.

"Kill me now."

-LINEBREAK-

"It's been three hours with no sign of the rogues from any of the zones. Where could it be?" Miwa was growing increasingly frustrated, circling the same area for the fourth time that hour.

" _No idea_ ," answered Arafune from the earpiece. " _We haven't seen hide nor tail of them. We have seen some slaughtered cattle, though, so they must be around._ "

"Do you know how the fledglings are doing?"

" _They took off two hours ago, nothing special happened."_

Yoneya firmly stroked the scales on the back of Miwa's neck. "We'll find them."

Miwa let out a pleased rumble before wheeling around to continue the search.

"Stay in formation, idiots!" Izumi snickered at Reiji's incensed expression before returning to his spot on the left flank.

"Shut up!" whispered Ninomiya. "Stop getting into trouble!"

Izumi responded with a barrel roll, nearly dropping him.

"IZUMI!"

Kazama let out a soft puff of air, looking on amusedly. Tachikawa was relaxed in the saddle, the telltale drooping of his muscles revealing to Kazama that his rider was nearly asleep. He fluttered his wings slightly, blowing air into his face to wake him up.

"Huh…?"

Kazama shook his head fondly before continuing. The group entered a forest, the trees throwing dappled light onto the dragons' shimmering scales.

A whoosh of air blew past the formation, shadows passing through the light. Reiji paused, eyes flicking around. A dark shadow plowed directly into Kazama's side, grabbing a leg and pulling him from the rest of the flock. At the same time, two rogues mobbed Jin, preventing pursuit from the only ones capable of doing to. Izumi prepared to sprint after the missing pair, but a warning look from Reiji stopped him mid flight.

The rogues, upon spotting their companion's success, immediately turned tail and fled before Reiji could begin to retaliate.

"Cowards!" bellowed Reiji. "Fight someone who can actually fight back!"

The three pairs hovered silently in place, a tangible loss among them. Reiji huffed out a breath before grabbing a radio. "Come in, Flock Two. We have need of assistance."

" _What happened?"_ Tokieda inquired in a monotone. _"Should I call one of the intermediate pairs over?"_

"You might need to come yourself. Three rogues, and we lost both a fledgling and a trainee."

" _I'm on my way."_

"Thanks."

Reiji turned to the other two pairs behind him. "When Tokieda comes, you and their trainees will stay put. He is bringing an intermediate to protect you guys from further attacks while we search for the rogues and Kazama. Don't be a bunch of idiots and come after us."

He looked directly at Izumi.

"Hey! I listen!" _Sometimes_ , he added under his breath.

-LINEBREAK DESU-

Kazama was roughly released in the middle of a forest so that the rogue could land without crashing. Unfortunately, this meant that Kazama was the one who ended up smacking into trees on his way down.

Conscious of the easily injured human on his back, Kazama curled such that his wings and back took the brunt of the fall, rolling to a rough stop in a patch of grass. Tachikawa immediately arose and strode forward, before Kazama lifted an arm to push him behind the dragon's back.

The rogues alighted gracefully onto the ground, tucking wings in to stare at the black-scaled dragon and the human behind him.

"Why do you guard him? Your landing could have been much smoother." The red dragon shifts, changing into a lean, dark skinned male with reddish hair in a ponytail.

Kazama looked away, refusing to answer.

"Do you… remember us? Your brother…" The green dragon, now seen as clearly female, speaks hesitantly.

Upon hearing the mention of his brother, Kazama snarls and slashes at the female. Immediately, the red male shifts and body slams Kazama. Kazama rises unsteadily, moving further in front of Tachikawa in a fighting stance.

"Leave, Tachikawa. Find the others."

Tachikawa, for the first time, scowls. "Did you think I didn't see how you rolled to prevent me from getting crushed? Your right wing is busted, if not your right leg as well."

Turning to the other dragons, he asks, "So you knew and were friends with Kazama before."

"He was a part of our flock before the humans took him from us, and murdered Shin! He belongs with us, not you dirty military dogs."

"So why did you kidnap him, force him to injure himself, and bodyslam him? Great way to show your love."

The rogues are silent, before growing angry.

"How dare you speak to us, you worm! Humans do not deserve to ride on our backs, much less own us! Die!" They rush for Tachikawa, teeth bared and talons extended.

Reiji and Jin land in the forest just in time to see the first dragon collide with Kazama's extended wings as the dragon curls protectively around his rider. The silent flinch of pain is almost audible, and Jin wastes no time in knocking the rogues back, spewing a ring of fire in a show of dominance.

The three rogues scramble to fly, escaping in the time that it takes for Tokieda to land lightly and rush over with a medical kit.

"Kazama, can you hear me? Please try to shift into human form. I need to be able to carry you back." Tachikawa hovered over the prone form as Tokieda attempted to wake him.

Kazama groaned before shifting back into human form, clothes and all. Reiji stifles a gasp as he sees the full extent of the damage. Luckily, as the rogues were unable to breathe fire, no burns were present. However, deep cuts extended all down Kazama's back from the trees and scratches of the dragons. Bruises riddled his chest from the body slam, purple concentrated around a section of his ribs.

His arms were by far the worst. A deep gash ran up one, nearing the shoulder while the other hung at an awkward angle from first being used to pull an entire dragon, and then landing on the same one.

"Because he's in human form, I have to hurry back. This equipment is for dragons, and he also will not have the same self healing that dragons have. If we can get him back to water dragons, that would help significantly."

Tokieda carefully lifted the injured dragon and placed him in front of Reiji atop Jin. Tachikawa attempted to climb on as well, only to have Jin shoo him onto Arashiyama instead.

Tokieda silently worried that Kazama might not be able to shift back into dragon form until he was fully healed, significantly slowing the healing process.

The ride back to the trainees was swift and tense. Neither senior rider spoke a word.

The trainees got the feeling that speaking would not be appreciated, and as such were silent on the way back.

Shinoda stood at the entrance of the training grounds. "How was your flight? No rogu- " He caught sight of their expressions.

As they landed, Jin shifted quickly to hold Kazama lightly by the shoulders and knees, racing into the main barracks where the medical center was located. Placing him on a table, Tokieda shooed everyone else out of the room to begin treating him.

Outside, Jin explained to Shinoda exactly what had happened.

"The rogues apparently knew Kazama. It seems that they hold a hatred for humans, but not to the point that they would randomly attack villages."

Shinoda thought for a moment. "They might not be the ones we are looking for. Have you thought about the other nearby nations?"

"You mean Gaopaula and Aftokrator?"

"Yes."

"Who knows… We need to find the source soon though."

Tokieda marched out of the room. "He's stable, but don't irritate his wounds. He should wake up within the next two days. When he wakes, get me and we can try to get him to shift so that water dragons can help."

Before he could say another word, Reiji and Jin pushed their way into the room. Pristine white sheets covered the majority of Kazama's body, hiding his injuries. However, the telltale scent of rubbing alcohol and the bloodied clothing shoved into the disposal spoke volumes about the patient on the bed.

"We need to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone again." Reiji was resolute, face stern.

The dragon on the bed was small in the clean sheets, black hair contrasting with the stark white pillow. His face was peaceful, however, revealing none of the events of the day.

"We'll brief this later, when he's awake." Kido had just walked in, glancing over the state of both flocks.


End file.
